UNUSUAL NECK MASSES SECONDARY TO JUGULAR VENOUS ABNORMALITIES - CASE-REPORT AND DISCUSSION

Thrombosis of the lateral sinus/proximal jugular vein and jugular veno us ectasia are infrequent but not uncommon neck masses. Lateral sinus thrombosis was well described in the preantibiotic era, but modern-day surgeons may not be familiar with this entity. Failure to diagnose a neck mass due to jugular vein thrombosis may have deadly consequences. Jugular vein ectasia, which is innocuous, has been mistaken for laryn gocele, cystic hygroma, as well as other vascular lesions. However, th e management of jugular vein ectasia, which is thought to be caused by incompetence of the bicuspid jugular venous valve, is conservative. W e present a case illustrating a neck mass arising from the internal ju gular vein with a discussion of jugular venous pathology.